UN criticizes Israel for new settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - All members of the UN Security Council, with the exception of the United States, have accused Israel of undermining peace with the latest decisions to build more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. In recent days, Israel has launched plans to build 2610 homes in Givat Hamatos, 1500 others in Ramat Shlomo and a highway that bisects the area of Beit Safafa.
The four European members of the
Security Council - France, Germany, Great Britain and Portugal - have issued a
statement saying they were "extremely concerned" about the new wave
of construction decided by the Israeli government.
AsiaNews
sources in Tel Aviv say that it is only thanks to the support of the United
States that the body could not produce a UN resolution condemning Israel, but
the U.S. State Department has accused Israel of choosing "a path of provocation"
that
creates "additional risks" for peace.
"The
systematic expansion of settlements - the EU statement said - threatens the
ability of the two States solution." "Under
international law the settlements are illegal and harmful to any international
effort to restart peace negotiations and ensure the two-state solution."
Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador
to the UN has expressed his anger at the Security Council that instead of
worrying about the massacres taking place in Syria [also against the Palestinians],
continues to deal with Israel.
Israel's
decision to continue with the expansion of illegal settlements is a deliberate
retaliation by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu after the recognition of
Palestine as a non-member and observer State at the UN Assembly.
The
avalanche of new settlements, as well as possession of Palestinian land, makes the
building of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital even more
difficult because it disrupts the territorial continuity between the city and
the rest of the territories.
The project of 2600 houses in Givat Hamatos, near East Jerusalem, was approved yesterday. Another project to build 900 new homes in the same area has been postponed. But just two days before another plan to build 1,500 homes in Ramat Shlomo was approved, always near East Jerusalem. Two weeks ago, Israel had expressed its intention to build 3 thousand new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Jerusalem municipality is also building a highway that passes through Beit Safafa in the south of the city (belonging to East Jerusalem), which bisects the area. The road passes a few meters from the homes of Palestinians and separates them from the mosque, shops, from nurseries that until now were a few minutes from the houses. With the new road it will take much more time - through other roads, underpasses and bridges - to reach the other side of the village.
The new road will bring benefits
only to Israeli settlers in the West Bank, especially those of Gush Etzion, who
will be directly connected to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
In
2010, bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down precisely
because of the failure to freeze illegal settlements. Now
that Palestine has been recognized by the UN, it is possible that its
government will ask the international tribunal in The Hague for justice.
In
the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, there are currently at least 500
thousand settlers in more than 100 illegal settlements.
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